The flex in the mast is probably keeping you from capsizing. When the wind is strong and the mast flexes, that will de-power the sail. You add a stiffer mast and the boat will on it's side faster than you can say "oh shit."
Wow...I am beyond impressed. I learned SO much about building and repairing (in general) from this one AWESOME creative invention. I have a 10 ft sit in Pelican and am thinking of some kind of sailing modification. Great idea!
Man, this is great. Highly detailed, easy to do, no major modifications, and I really appreciate that you didn't try to monetize it by selling plans or something. Thanks!
Absolutely not, you won't be able to store enough food or water for such a long voyage on a 10 ft kayak. All these rec yaks were not really designed to deal with waves at all.
Audfile don't let some guy tell you you can't do it! YOU can do anything. What ocean are you crossing? I'll bet this would take me the 50 miles to the Bahamas from Wpb where I live. Would that not be "crossing ocean"?
Eff Yoo Bahamas, sounds nice. I live North to where if I jumped off my boat shirtless for a nice swim it would be instantly regretted and I'd be unconscious within 20 minutes.
Thanks for posting your video. It was one of the few I kept returning to on youtube for inspiration and ideas for my own rig which I finished about a month ago(video posted today). I really like what you did here and it helped me to build mine. This is a great way for people to have their own personal sailboat that can go on the car top and be launched with just one person. Great idea! Thanks again
I just bought a new kayak and was thinking about re-purposing my old one into a sail boat like this. Cool video and good ideas on display here for a DYI conversion. I was thinking about pedal rudder controls on mine. Thanks for the tips and tricks. Nice work!
Thanks for putting this up! It inspired me to hang on to my old rotomolded CD Squall and outfit the thing for sailing. Only kayak sailing I have done was when I lashed the 2 halves of my spare paddle together in a T and tied my rain parka to it...
cool dude i just bought a watkins 25 and keeo her at broosk landing and i am just learning to sail. your project is something i could use as a ship to shore device at a reasonable cost hope to see you out there soon ,crazy carl
good luck with it and hope it works out. I look at it, if you get tired of paddling the same open waters endlessly month after month, year after year, adding a sail to harness all that free wind energy can bring the enjoyment back.
Just awesome - love your invention ship and craftsmanship - applaud your efforts! I like your simple overview on how you used your plastic welder and methods. I wish other would take the time also. Great inspiration - when you don’t want to invest a lot of dollars in a craft that you are not going to use all the time but want to do the same - thanks
Great Job... You have inventiveness and skills,I don't know how you can keep upright without an outrigger while sailing though.I suppose,with your abilities it wouldn't be much of a challenge to add a leeboard and outriggers...Kudos to you sir.Good luck with it.
Sorry late response. The hickory rake handle fits tight in the 1" heavy duty PVC mast but it still flexes too much. It has never broken though. I'm still sailing with it but now have a two and a quarter inch diameter carbon fiber mast that tapers down towards the top. It came from an old windsurfer. I want to use the existing 1 1/4 mast mount but haven't figured the best way to adapt it. I've been looking at some aluminum and PVC fittings.
I'am doing something similar with my 8ft clinker style sailing dinghy. Adding a second sail which will act as a genoa. Zap strapped a second mast to the original one, As the new sail is taller then the main. Bow sprit and new mast made out of pcp pipe.
Nice project, and really exceptional video. If you do change your rudder arrangement you might consider using a large door hinge for the pivot instead of the PVC. If you change the tiller on the rudder to a "T" and have the ropes go to the top ends of the "T" it should give you the leverage to get a sharper turn. It is quite impressive how well the boat sails!
HEY Ft walton ! very nice I'm in Crestview now but enjoy those beaches every year with the kids.. pensacola beach moved me inland after hurricane Ivan '04, happy sailing see ya out there man.
Well done, and good job making video too. I am thinking of adapting an old Dagger Delta SOT kayak to have sailing capabilities, and may try to incorporate some of your ideas to fit with my own situation. I already own a Hobie Kayak sail (no longer have the Hobie kayak) that I would like to use for this.It has an aluminum mast that may solve the problems you've had with the flex in the pvc mast. (I understand part of your purposes was to do this with simple cheap materials). I need to find a way similar to yours to create a sleeve to insert the bottom of mast. I also own a rudder kit that I bought years ago (at great expense) and never used, that would replace the foot braces in the Dagger, for the steerage control. Not sure if I can use that or not, or if rudder size is adequate for sailing. If not, a version of your design may come in to play. A couple of things I wonder about with your design - I assume that you have to enter the kayak at a bit of depth in order to have the centerboard and rudder in place. Do you find this to be easy? Will one of the store bought outrigger accessories (with inflatable pontoons) sold for Hobies work as well as your centerboard? Or is a centerboard necessary to be able to tack up wind? (I have a lot to learn about the physics involved in successful sailing). Anyway, as I said, great video - I enjoyed watching. And thanks for taking the time to produce and share it with others!
When I launch will set up in about 16 inches of water, put on the centerboard and rudder first, tip the kayak about 30 degrees to get at the bottom easy. Then grab the sail already assembled on shore and install it last. No problem getting in , sit down back first into the seat. You do need a centerboard of some kind to sail 90 degrees or up to 45 degrees into the wind. Tacking back and forth at 45 degrees or so you can zigzag upwind. Without a centerboard you will always end up downwind any direction you can sail.
When I first built this I did not have the orange 1 1/4" thick wall polyethylene conduit. The centerboard mount was a piece of 1 1/4" PVC pipe epoxied to an aluminum plate that was heated and slightly melted flat into the kayak. Extra polyethylene was melted and squeezed tight around the edges of the plate to seal it. this did eventually loosen and started leaking. Luckily shortly after that I found the conduit and replaced the assembly. I've picked up another scrap piece along a road recently.
have done something like that and have experimented with kayaks canoes windsurfers and dinghyes and rowing boats so this video was just wonderful and showed Im not crazy all alone lol very good -keep up the good work Michael Denmark 54
Flex in the mast is a good thing as it would depower the sail in gusts making it easier to stay upright.personally I think the area needing most improvement would be sail shape and cut. Good looking project though I like the centerboard setup thats pretty cool.
polyethylene. It's easy to weld. PVC is hard to weld as it's composition breaks down at temperatures just above it's melt point so is very tricky. You can weld ABS, Polypropylene and others with correct rod. PEX doesn't melt well and bond so don't use that tubing. Most kayaks are Polyethylene. Some are fiberglass. I've heard of Ram-X but have not played with it.
No, never any leakage. Even at the part that is blocked from welding from the top due to the seat being in the way. Two plastic surfaces welded together is virtually just as strong as the material itself, and it is reinforced with extra polyethylene as shown, and welded again. It's never cracked, leaked or otherwise come lose in 7 years. It gets bumped by legs, feet, cargo, etc.. The top of the riser tube is over 2 inches higher than the water will come up even with a heavy load.
great videos! one small correction though, HDPE is high density polypropylene, not polyethylene. polypropylene is a much more workable material, although very similar to polyethylene
Sorry late response. I've thought about changing the centerboard mount to a sleeve to fit the board so it can be pulled up to clear land and would be the strongest way to mount it. Just like in a Laser, Sunfish, Snark, etc. Successfully fabricating a functional sleeve from sheet polyethylene and welding it around a slot in the kayak would be a tough job with a small welder but is an idea to ponder, and I might just try it :)
Great info on the pipe sizing.. a big deal for DYS. H.Freight has a good heating iron with blower. I'm surprised the JB is holding on to PVC did it work well for long?
On plastic welding, a person could get by without a welder and plastic weld rod. Two polyethylene surfaces can be carefully heated to melt temperature and joined together for a superior bond. They MUST be the same grade of polyethylene though. You can join LDPE and HDPE (low density and high density polyethylene) but the bond will not be as strong. Most kayaks are HDPE. A plastic welder is best, but you can use a heat gun (larger areas) or a large magnifying lens (with dark shades and caution)
This is a good idea not sure why it's not sold as a mod kit. Or sailboat kayak hybrids. They are one of the most streamlined and easily steered boats perfect for small sails.
I didn't look to see how long ago you posted but a easy fix ( instead of carbon fiber mask or aluminum mask) could be to find some metal electrical conduit that fits inside your mask. That might help the flex and be cheaper than other fixes
A wooden dowel inside the mast will stiffen immensely doesn’t have t be all the way 2/3 perhaps . I used that design in the seventies on homemade sail craft inside thin aluminum should work for plastic as well
I'm thinking of enlarging the sail for more speed in low winds. I have a larger carbon fiber non-flexing mast now that I have yet to install. The current sail is about 29-30 sq feet now, maybe go larger as much as 40 sq feet without an outrigger. I want to keep it as simple as possible and feel confident body weight alone will keep it upright :).
I figured out that makeing a frame to place on top ot the kayak and using eyelets and cords to strap it down and then attatching leeboards using old cheep raft paddles worked a lot better that the center board on the bottom of the kayak.That way you can lift up the leeboards when you get in shallow water or in heavy weather. As for the support on the mast. If you screw in small eyelets into the the bow, starboard, port of your kayak, the attach a forstay and shrowds that would fix your stability
I can see the necessity for the rutter but could you explain the reason behind using the middle aluminum plate. In the video you said it allows the boat to have power to go forward even with a side-wind, can you explain how in more depth. I'm really interested in learning how to sail and am thinking of trying this but on a canoe. Any thoughts?
+michael cummins The centerboard (middle aluminum plate) prevents the kayak from moving sideways when the force from the sails is pushing perpendicular to the kayak.
I'm going to convert my 8.5 sit inside kayak to something like this. I'll put leeboards on the sides. How did you bond the edges of the sail so that the cord did not rip through? Would putting the outriggers near the mast make sense since that is where the forces are greatest? If not where would you put them, behind my seat? A rectangular sail has more area but most sailboats have triangular sails--do the rectangular ones work well?
I used some heavy UV resistant polyethylene tape on the edges of the tarp that were cut. An outrigger assembly over the top of the kayak with the mast going through would be a good idea and I've seen some done that way.
plastic welding only works on thermo plastics, generally most softer recycle-able plastics, stiffer plastics that are formed by a chemical reaction (like epoxy resin) will burn if you try to plastic weld them, it's easy to check suitability in an inconspicuous area with a soldering iron, thermo plastic will melt around the tip, non thermo plastic will char and crumble.
@PimDonatz Awesome! What kind of welder? I've also done a number of plastic welds on other projects using a large magnifying or Fresnel lens and sunlight. And a pair of VERY dark sunglasses! Must be careful as it can quickly overheat and burn so practice on scrap.
Yes, the centerboard has broken off a few times, but it was due to striking the bottom too fast or once, a submerged log. All but one time have been able to recover it and just made a new PVC stem. The PVC tube holding the centerboard snaps off, which is a bit of a safety feature as the polyethylene tube riser is stronger and reinforced with multiple welds and two layers of polyethylene. I always carry a life vest.
Unstable winds have caught me off guard and have stressed the boom fitting on the mast to where it broke, thus the reinforcement. an outrigger would be nice as sitting to one side inside a kayak can get uncomfortable. I did this project as a ultra simple and cheap sailing 'yak and as long as winds are 5-10mph it works great and is a load of fun.
@RLZerr Awesome! I actually got a aluminum mast now, its 3/4" but I found out it still bends, I found a wooden dowel that fits so I shoved it in there and that did the trick.
+Alain Diaz yes but you cannot sail into the wind or even sideways very well. Even sailing at 90 degrees to the wind you will be pushed downwind some. I've seen others attach the centerboard to a cross board bungeed across the top of the kayak. It doesn't have to be exactly in the center of the kayak just has to oppose the force from the wind from the side. A much simpler design too.
I'm not familiar with ram-x. Plastic welding works great with polyethylene, polypropylene and some other plastics. PVC is tricky as the heating temperature range is small. If over heated it breaks down and turns black.
Well done and very creative. How have you changed it since your initial design? Or how would you make it more robust other than stiffen the mast and boom? How does it point into the wind compared to Snark or Sunfish? Thanks for sharing.
@dmitrioguz Yes, that's why the extra layers and welds around the center riser pipe that holds the centerboard stem. Lots of force when at speed, as well as on the mast. The centerboard has broken off a few times and had to be repaired. Usually from running aground. I always have a PFD.
I wouldn't use PVC if I did this again. Most windsurfers have a fiber / resin tapered mast that is very strong, rigid and light. Craigslist would be a great place to find more old windsurfers that might have a good mast. I bought an old windsurfer with mast and sail last spring but haven't done anything with it yet. If you do use PVC get the schedule 40 like I used here and fit the snuggest hickory shaft down the middle as you can find. I used a rake handle. But really, it's not rigid enough.
how to ensure the sail has the desired airfoil shape? I read some articles on sail making and they mentioned about broadseam and rounding of the luff/foot edges. I know nothing about these techniques. And seems like your sail is really a simple one that doesn't need to bother with the broadseams. Care to explain more on the sail?
ks ben I too am unfamiliar with meticulous technical details of sail design. My first sail was just a mast and boom and a triangle sail which did not provide enough power for my liking so added the top boom and fitted a sail with more square footage to catch more wind. And put a bend in the lower boom for head clearance. Everything was an experiment with no special sailing skills or advice from others so perhaps I got lucky that it works so well :) I did have a goal with this project to make it as easy to put together and take apart as possible using simple fittings and free or inexpensive parts.
RLZerr after some research on Lateen sail (which sailboatstogo.com used for inflatable kayaks) and it seems to me that your sail works like a partial Lateen sail. Wikipedia:"Lateen sail" suggests that the conic section formed in a Lateen sail produces the airfoil shape. I suspected that you created (accidentally) your airfoil shape by the bending of the bottom boom. @8:56 we can see that there is a curvature towards the trailing edge of the sail. I guess if you tighten up the halyard supporting the top boom to reduce the sail curvature, the sail power decreases a lot.
RLZerr ..and if my theory is correct that also means more than half of the sail area right behind the mast isn't generating enough lift since there is no proper curvature (camber)
@nicholasnoble I inserted a wooden rake handle through the mast. Bought at Lowe's. It's still not as rigid as I'd like so if I was to do it again I'd spend some extra money and buy aluminum pipe for the mast. Ace Hardware has it.
I love your design. I made a sail for my kayak too, Its a Gaff rig about 8ft tall. The only thing I'm having trouble with is reinforcing the mast. How do you keep it from flexing too much? Especially when reaching into the wind?
First off all, congratulation for your ideas and thank you for post. I am very interested in how could I do that welding device. You did or you bougth it? What is that material used to weld? Unfortunatelly here in Brazil our kayaks has no much good options to sailing or fishing and we if we would like, we must costumise it.For sure your video will help us a lot.
The welding iron was bought online over 10 yrs ago for plastic welding. The welding rod is polyethylene. I bought a large roll on eBay at the same time. Still using it. Probably have a 500 year supply at my rate :)
Most kayaks are made of high density polyethylene plastic. In the last couple years discovered the best adhesive to be Scotch Weld 2216. A room temperature cure semi flexible epoxy and works good on polyethylene as long as surfaces are roughened and are not subject to too much force. It is expensive epoxy, 1 small kit will cost as much as a plastic welder. JB Weld is the second best epoxy. It is cheaper but find it inferior to Scotch Weld because it cures very hard and brittle and easily peels from flexing forces. Plastic welding is superior to all adhesives. If done correctly is just as strong as the two materials joined. I would not rely on epoxy on polyethylene for high force joints such as mast or centerboard mounts. None of the adhesives you mentioned are reliable here especially PVC "glue" which only works for joining PVC to PVC.
I haven't tried it yet, but believe a hot bed of wood coals in a hole in the ground would heat a steel rod of around 3/8" diameter to hot enough to do plastic welding. Keep yourself upwind. Cut plastic welding filler rods from same type plastic. Better a bit too hot of welding than too cool. Practice, practice. Enjoy.
Milk jugs and laundry detergent bottles are the same material. I have used strips of milk jugs, to weld with a blow torch and hot spoon, a 1,500 gallon plastic water tank. I repaired a factory seam that had gave way.
@masterofsurvival Keeping the kayak light is a priority to me. I wanted it simple, easy to carry and launch from anywhere. I don't think a lead keel would be a good idea myself. No need worrying about tipping in a sudden strong gust. Once used to the feel of the rig and how it handles. The quick rudder and sail control is instantly responsive on such a small craft. Strong gust, just quickly turn into the wind more or let the sail out some. I've never tipped while sailing.
@superdave98008 That might be a good idea. But need adequate clearance from the junk between the legs. A removable centerboard off the side attached over the top of your lap might be a better idea but cumbersome. I guess it doesn't necessarily need to be in the center to work.
@masterofsurvival Building something that works from inexpensive or free stuff is half the fun. I wouldn't want to use any iron or steel, it would rust out in no time. I sail in salt water. The clip that hooks the guyline to the top of the mast to the front of the kayak completely corroded away in a couple years. It was made out of chrome plated zinc. Brass, stainless steel and aluminum are the only metals that are reliable in salt water.
Nice mod. I'm thinking about attempting this and it just so happens I live in Destin... maybe I'll try to get with you but I think I want some outriggers first....
What material is your kayak made from? Mine is ram-x and I've heard some pretty bad things about it including the fact that it cannot be repaired. Does plastic welding work, regardless of the material as long as you use the correct rods?
9 years later I just want to say that you are a DIY LEGEND sir.
The flex in the mast is probably keeping you from capsizing. When the wind is strong and the mast flexes, that will de-power the sail. You add a stiffer mast and the boat will on it's side faster than you can say "oh shit."
Wow...I am beyond impressed. I learned SO much about building and repairing (in general) from this one AWESOME creative invention. I have a 10 ft sit in Pelican and am thinking of some kind of sailing modification. Great idea!
This video inspired me so much. Taking old and broken things and making them into something new and functional.
Man, this is great. Highly detailed, easy to do, no major modifications, and I really appreciate that you didn't try to monetize it by selling plans or something.
Thanks!
Your camera work captured the details of your project really well. I like your innovation.
I wanted to say something 4 years ago but couldnt think of anything
9 years and still sailing the same rig. Sail is a bit tattered now. I did change the rudder control mechanism. Shown in another video.
can you cross the ocean like this?
Absolutely not, you won't be able to store enough food or water for such a long voyage on a 10 ft kayak. All these rec yaks were not really designed to deal with waves at all.
Audfile don't let some guy tell you you can't do it! YOU can do anything. What ocean are you crossing? I'll bet this would take me the 50 miles to the Bahamas from Wpb where I live. Would that not be "crossing ocean"?
Eff Yoo Bahamas, sounds nice. I live North to where if I jumped off my boat shirtless for a nice swim it would be instantly regretted and I'd be unconscious within 20 minutes.
Thanks for posting your video. It was one of the few I kept returning to on youtube for inspiration and ideas for my own rig which I finished about a month ago(video posted today). I really like what you did here and it helped me to build mine. This is a great way for people to have their own personal sailboat that can go on the car top and be launched with just one person. Great idea! Thanks again
Brilliant. Love the way you used what you can find but still went to the trouble of doing it right.
thanks. re-purposing is fun!
Not often do I see someone rigging out a cheap kayak as well as I do ;)
Lol I am not surprised to see you in this comment section. Did you ever make a kayak sailboat build?
This is more complicated and larger than I need, but as a DIYer myself, you did an awesome job on this.
I just bought a new kayak and was thinking about re-purposing my old one into a sail boat like this. Cool video and good ideas on display here for a DYI conversion. I was thinking about pedal rudder controls on mine. Thanks for the tips and tricks. Nice work!
Thanks for putting this up! It inspired me to hang on to my old rotomolded CD Squall and outfit the thing for sailing. Only kayak sailing I have done was when I lashed the 2 halves of my spare paddle together in a T and tied my rain parka to it...
Fantastic job.you are the modern day Inuit, builing stuff from what is washed up on the beach great video.
Excellent description and portrayal of how to make this thing work. Nice job!
cool dude i just bought a watkins 25 and keeo her at broosk landing and i am just learning to sail. your project is something i could use as a ship to shore device at a reasonable cost hope to see you out there soon ,crazy carl
John, you are right about depowering in gusts. I try to avoid sailing during unstable winds.
good luck with it and hope it works out. I look at it, if you get tired of paddling the same open waters endlessly month after month, year after year, adding a sail to harness all that free wind energy can bring the enjoyment back.
Just awesome - love your invention ship and craftsmanship - applaud your efforts! I like your simple overview on how you used your plastic welder and methods. I wish other would take the time also. Great inspiration - when you don’t want to invest a lot of dollars in a craft that you are not going to use all the time but want to do the same - thanks
Great Job...
You have inventiveness and skills,I don't know how you can keep upright without an outrigger while sailing though.I suppose,with your abilities it wouldn't be much of a challenge to add a leeboard and outriggers...Kudos to you sir.Good luck with it.
This is incredible! I wish I had the skills & tools to try this out...someday.
Also very cool to see that wrecked boat out on the water.
It finally got cleaned up and hauled off some years after the hurricane
Brother, I like your style. Making something out of nothing. Bravo!
Sorry late response. The hickory rake handle fits tight in the 1" heavy duty PVC mast but it still flexes too much. It has never broken though. I'm still sailing with it but now have a two and a quarter inch diameter carbon fiber mast that tapers down towards the top. It came from an old windsurfer. I want to use the existing 1 1/4 mast mount but haven't figured the best way to adapt it. I've been looking at some aluminum and PVC fittings.
I'am doing something similar with my 8ft clinker style sailing dinghy. Adding a second sail which will act as a genoa. Zap strapped a second mast to the original one, As the new sail is taller then the main. Bow sprit and new mast made out of pcp pipe.
Amazing job and love your choice of musical outro!
Nice project, and really exceptional video. If you do change your rudder arrangement you might consider using a large door hinge for the pivot instead of the PVC. If you change the tiller on the rudder to a "T" and have the ropes go to the top ends of the "T" it should give you the leverage to get a sharper turn.
It is quite impressive how well the boat sails!
Brilliant work! I've got to see how you built the rudder.
Thinking you could use paddles as outriggers if you carry 4?As a white water kayaker I know how unstable a kayak can be.
HEY Ft walton ! very nice I'm in Crestview now but enjoy those beaches every year with the kids.. pensacola beach moved me inland after hurricane Ivan '04, happy sailing see ya out there man.
Well done, and good job making video too. I am thinking of adapting an old Dagger Delta SOT kayak to have sailing capabilities, and may try to incorporate some of your ideas to fit with my own situation. I already own a Hobie Kayak sail (no longer have the Hobie kayak) that I would like to use for this.It has an aluminum mast that may solve the problems you've had with the flex in the pvc mast. (I understand part of your purposes was to do this with simple cheap materials). I need to find a way similar to yours to create a sleeve to insert the bottom of mast.
I also own a rudder kit that I bought years ago (at great expense) and never used, that would replace the foot braces in the Dagger, for the steerage control. Not sure if I can use that or not, or if rudder size is adequate for sailing. If not, a version of your design may come in to play.
A couple of things I wonder about with your design - I assume that you have to enter the kayak at a bit of depth in order to have the centerboard and rudder in place. Do you find this to be easy? Will one of the store bought outrigger accessories (with inflatable pontoons) sold for Hobies work as well as your centerboard? Or is a centerboard necessary to be able to tack up wind? (I have a lot to learn about the physics involved in successful sailing). Anyway, as I said, great video - I enjoyed watching. And thanks for taking the time to produce and share it with others!
When I launch will set up in about 16 inches of water, put on the centerboard and rudder first, tip the kayak about 30 degrees to get at the bottom easy. Then grab the sail already assembled on shore and install it last. No problem getting in , sit down back first into the seat. You do need a centerboard of some kind to sail 90 degrees or up to 45 degrees into the wind. Tacking back and forth at 45 degrees or so you can zigzag upwind. Without a centerboard you will always end up downwind any direction you can sail.
some kayaks do come with sail fittings, the more expensive upper end models. This kayak was a simple $325 model from a local sporting goods store.
You could put lee-board slots on either side of the cockpit rather than penetrating the hull.
When I first built this I did not have the orange 1 1/4" thick wall polyethylene conduit. The centerboard mount was a piece of 1 1/4" PVC pipe epoxied to an aluminum plate that was heated and slightly melted flat into the kayak. Extra polyethylene was melted and squeezed tight around the edges of the plate to seal it. this did eventually loosen and started leaking. Luckily shortly after that I found the conduit and replaced the assembly. I've picked up another scrap piece along a road recently.
have done something like that and have experimented with kayaks canoes windsurfers and dinghyes and rowing boats so this video was just wonderful and showed Im not crazy all alone lol very good -keep up the good work Michael Denmark 54
Try schedule 80 PVC for the mast, it's considerably stronger than schedule 40 from the hardware store.
Flex in the mast is a good thing as it would depower the sail in gusts making it easier to stay upright.personally I think the area needing most improvement would be sail shape and cut. Good looking project though I like the centerboard setup thats pretty cool.
polyethylene. It's easy to weld. PVC is hard to weld as it's composition breaks down at temperatures just above it's melt point so is very tricky. You can weld ABS, Polypropylene and others with correct rod. PEX doesn't melt well and bond so don't use that tubing. Most kayaks are Polyethylene. Some are fiberglass. I've heard of Ram-X but have not played with it.
No, never any leakage. Even at the part that is blocked from welding from the top due to the seat being in the way. Two plastic surfaces welded together is virtually just as strong as the material itself, and it is reinforced with extra polyethylene as shown, and welded again. It's never cracked, leaked or otherwise come lose in 7 years. It gets bumped by legs, feet, cargo, etc.. The top of the riser tube is over 2 inches higher than the water will come up even with a heavy load.
great videos! one small correction though, HDPE is high density polypropylene, not polyethylene. polypropylene is a much more workable material, although very similar to polyethylene
this is not a correct comment. Polypropylene is symbol "PP" Here is a reference page: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resin_identification_code
Sorry late response. I've thought about changing the centerboard mount to a sleeve to fit the board so it can be pulled up to clear land and would be the strongest way to mount it. Just like in a Laser, Sunfish, Snark, etc. Successfully fabricating a functional sleeve from sheet polyethylene and welding it around a slot in the kayak would be a tough job with a small welder but is an idea to ponder, and I might just try it :)
Great info on the pipe sizing.. a big deal for DYS.
H.Freight has a good heating iron with blower. I'm surprised the JB is holding on to PVC did it work well for long?
On plastic welding, a person could get by without a welder and plastic weld rod. Two polyethylene surfaces can be carefully heated to melt temperature and joined together for a superior bond. They MUST be the same grade of polyethylene though. You can join LDPE and HDPE (low density and high density polyethylene) but the bond will not be as strong. Most kayaks are HDPE. A plastic welder is best, but you can use a heat gun (larger areas) or a large magnifying lens (with dark shades and caution)
This is a good idea not sure why it's not sold as a mod kit. Or sailboat kayak hybrids. They are one of the most streamlined and easily steered boats perfect for small sails.
Awesome Video !!! sail away with me. . . . .come. . .sail away come. . .sail away. . . .yeah baby yeah !!! How long did u get to sail b4 it broke?
I didn't look to see how long ago you posted but a easy fix ( instead of carbon fiber mask or aluminum mask) could be to find some metal electrical conduit that fits inside your mask. That might help the flex and be cheaper than other fixes
Fantastic! easy to do and it really works...lets improve a sulution for its structural weakness at the centerboard (my sugestion)
A wooden dowel inside the mast will stiffen immensely doesn’t have t be all the way 2/3 perhaps . I used that design in the seventies on homemade sail craft inside thin aluminum should work for plastic as well
I am quite fond of leeboards. Although more complicated, I think small leeboards would be rather fun and challenging.
so basically it appears if you use the sail your kayak gets super tippy and you need the pontoons?
That’s great. I might try this for my kayak. But I need outriggers. I don’t want to flip
I'm thinking of enlarging the sail for more speed in low winds. I have a larger carbon fiber non-flexing mast now that I have yet to install. The current sail is about 29-30 sq feet now, maybe go larger as much as 40 sq feet without an outrigger. I want to keep it as simple as possible and feel confident body weight alone will keep it upright :).
That's a really well done video, and a great project. I'll be using it as inspiration.
I figured out that makeing a frame to place on top ot the kayak and using eyelets and cords to strap it down and then attatching leeboards using old cheep raft paddles worked a lot better that the center board on the bottom of the kayak.That way you can lift up the leeboards when you get in shallow water or in heavy weather. As for the support on the mast. If you screw in small eyelets into the the bow, starboard, port of your kayak, the attach a forstay and shrowds that would fix your stability
I can see the necessity for the rutter but could you explain the reason behind using the middle aluminum plate. In the video you said it allows the boat to have power to go forward even with a side-wind, can you explain how in more depth.
I'm really interested in learning how to sail and am thinking of trying this but on a canoe. Any thoughts?
+michael cummins The centerboard (middle aluminum plate) prevents the kayak from moving sideways when the force from the sails is pushing perpendicular to the kayak.
I'm going to convert my 8.5 sit inside kayak to something like this. I'll put leeboards on the sides. How did you bond the edges of the sail so that the cord did not rip through? Would putting the outriggers near the mast make sense since that is where the forces are greatest? If not where would you put them, behind my seat? A rectangular sail has more area but most sailboats have triangular sails--do the rectangular ones work well?
I used some heavy UV resistant polyethylene tape on the edges of the tarp that were cut. An outrigger assembly over the top of the kayak with the mast going through would be a good idea and I've seen some done that way.
Very elegant design. Would outriggers help at all?
Please tell us more about the features that I need to know in order to find a suitable polyethylene.
plastic welding only works on thermo plastics, generally most softer recycle-able plastics, stiffer plastics that are formed by a chemical reaction (like epoxy resin) will burn if you try to plastic weld them, it's easy to check suitability in an inconspicuous area with a soldering iron, thermo plastic will melt around the tip, non thermo plastic will char and crumble.
you did a great creating that sail rigging.
i followed your idea by welding plastic. This way i made a clamp for the ruder, and hole and foot for the mast. regards, Pim see : kayak sailing pim
Great job! I love it when people invent their own freedom, and make it WORK!
in nice smooth winds that aren't kicking up whitecaps tacking is effective
Brilliant video, thank you,, from Lismore NSW Australia.
David, I am on the other side of town. I like to go kayaking / sailing in the sound
Good work mate your a thinker.
i have been wondering how to make a pvc mast for a brand new windsurfing sail i picked up for $5 10 years ago.
@PimDonatz Awesome! What kind of welder? I've also done a number of plastic welds on other projects using a large magnifying or Fresnel lens and sunlight. And a pair of VERY dark sunglasses! Must be careful as it can quickly overheat and burn so practice on scrap.
Yes, the centerboard has broken off a few times, but it was due to striking the bottom too fast or once, a submerged log. All but one time have been able to recover it and just made a new PVC stem. The PVC tube holding the centerboard snaps off, which is a bit of a safety feature as the polyethylene tube riser is stronger and reinforced with multiple welds and two layers of polyethylene. I always carry a life vest.
Unstable winds have caught me off guard and have stressed the boom fitting on the mast to where it broke, thus the reinforcement.
an outrigger would be nice as sitting to one side inside a kayak can get uncomfortable. I did this project as a ultra simple and cheap sailing 'yak and as long as winds are 5-10mph it works great and is a load of fun.
This is awesome, I have been looking at doing something similar, and this was very helpful.
@RLZerr Awesome! I actually got a aluminum mast now, its 3/4" but I found out it still bends, I found a wooden dowel that fits so I shoved it in there and that did the trick.
can this be done without the center board? I don't wanna drill a hole in the bottom of my kayak.
+Alain Diaz yes but you cannot sail into the wind or even sideways very well. Even sailing at 90 degrees to the wind you will be pushed downwind some. I've seen others attach the centerboard to a cross board bungeed across the top of the kayak. It doesn't have to be exactly in the center of the kayak just has to oppose the force from the wind from the side. A much simpler design too.
You could try using leeboards instead. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leeboard
I'm not familiar with ram-x. Plastic welding works great with polyethylene, polypropylene and some other plastics. PVC is tricky as the heating temperature range is small. If over heated it breaks down and turns black.
Very creative and well engineered project ...... JRW
Well done and very creative. How have you changed it since your initial design? Or how would you make it more robust other than stiffen the mast and boom? How does it point into the wind compared to Snark or Sunfish? Thanks for sharing.
@dmitrioguz Yes, that's why the extra layers and welds around the center riser pipe that holds the centerboard stem. Lots of force when at speed, as well as on the mast. The centerboard has broken off a few times and had to be repaired. Usually from running aground. I always have a PFD.
Nice sail rig. Good job.
Wow! This is amazing! Now I want to make one!
This is great. I may give this a try with my kayak. Thank you for sharing!
I wouldn't use PVC if I did this again. Most windsurfers have a fiber / resin tapered mast that is very strong, rigid and light. Craigslist would be a great place to find more old windsurfers that might have a good mast. I bought an old windsurfer with mast and sail last spring but haven't done anything with it yet. If you do use PVC get the schedule 40 like I used here and fit the snuggest hickory shaft down the middle as you can find. I used a rake handle. But really, it's not rigid enough.
you should find out a way to control the degree of the mast so when the wind is heavy a simple turn of the mast and you wont blow over
Nice ideas to solve problems. Well done. Thanks for posting.
how to ensure the sail has the desired airfoil shape? I read some articles on sail making and they mentioned about broadseam and rounding of the luff/foot edges. I know nothing about these techniques. And seems like your sail is really a simple one that doesn't need to bother with the broadseams. Care to explain more on the sail?
ks ben I too am unfamiliar with meticulous technical details of sail design. My first sail was just a mast and boom and a triangle sail which did not provide enough power for my liking so added the top boom and fitted a sail with more square footage to catch more wind. And put a bend in the lower boom for head clearance. Everything was an experiment with no special sailing skills or advice from others so perhaps I got lucky that it works so well :) I did have a goal with this project to make it as easy to put together and take apart as possible using simple fittings and free or inexpensive parts.
RLZerr after some research on Lateen sail (which sailboatstogo.com used for inflatable kayaks) and it seems to me that your sail works like a partial Lateen sail. Wikipedia:"Lateen sail" suggests that the conic section formed in a Lateen sail produces the airfoil shape. I suspected that you created (accidentally) your airfoil shape by the bending of the bottom boom. @8:56 we can see that there is a curvature towards the trailing edge of the sail. I guess if you tighten up the halyard supporting the top boom to reduce the sail curvature, the sail power decreases a lot.
RLZerr ..and if my theory is correct that also means more than half of the sail area right behind the mast isn't generating enough lift since there is no proper curvature (camber)
If you added a tee bar to the end of the tiller and then crossed the ropes over you would get much more travel on the tiller.
The problem with jb weld it gets sonhard as a rock but weak and brittle when u give it a good smack it would break and shatter
@nicholasnoble I inserted a wooden rake handle through the mast. Bought at Lowe's. It's still not as rigid as I'd like so if I was to do it again I'd spend some extra money and buy aluminum pipe for the mast. Ace Hardware has it.
the simple rudder and centerboard design is a big problem in shallow water. they are not retractable in this.
Wow, how cool is that ?! Great job, very ingenious.
I love your design. I made a sail for my kayak too, Its a Gaff rig about 8ft tall. The only thing I'm having trouble with is reinforcing the mast. How do you keep it from flexing too much? Especially when reaching into the wind?
What exactly did you use or do to allow the mast to rotate? Did you just put a smaller PVC pipe inside of another one?
. Yes, the 1" schedule 40 PVC mast fits perfectly inside the 1 1/4" stem mount.
@@RLZerr Thank you for the information.
First off all, congratulation for your ideas and thank you for post. I am very interested in how could I do that welding device. You did or you bougth it? What is that material used to weld? Unfortunatelly here in Brazil our kayaks has no much good options to sailing or fishing and we if we would like, we must costumise it.For sure your video will help us a lot.
The welding iron was bought online over 10 yrs ago for plastic welding. The welding rod is polyethylene. I bought a large roll on eBay at the same time. Still using it. Probably have a 500 year supply at my rate :)
Have you considered using liquid nail/Pipe Joint Compound/PVC glue rather than the plastic welder?
Most kayaks are made of high density polyethylene plastic. In the last couple years discovered the best adhesive to be Scotch Weld 2216. A room temperature cure semi flexible epoxy and works good on polyethylene as long as surfaces are roughened and are not subject to too much force. It is expensive epoxy, 1 small kit will cost as much as a plastic welder. JB Weld is the second best epoxy. It is cheaper but find it inferior to Scotch Weld because it cures very hard and brittle and easily peels from flexing forces. Plastic welding is superior to all adhesives. If done correctly is just as strong as the two materials joined. I would not rely on epoxy on polyethylene for high force joints such as mast or centerboard mounts. None of the adhesives you mentioned are reliable here especially PVC "glue" which only works for joining PVC to PVC.
I haven't tried it yet, but believe a hot bed of wood coals in a hole in the ground would heat a steel rod of around 3/8" diameter to hot enough to do plastic welding. Keep yourself upwind. Cut plastic welding filler rods from same type plastic. Better a bit too hot of welding than too cool. Practice, practice. Enjoy.
Milk jugs and laundry detergent bottles are the same material. I have used strips of milk jugs, to weld with a blow torch and hot spoon, a 1,500 gallon plastic water tank. I repaired a factory seam that had gave way.
@masterofsurvival Keeping the kayak light is a priority to me. I wanted it simple, easy to carry and launch from anywhere. I don't think a lead keel would be a good idea myself. No need worrying about tipping in a sudden strong gust. Once used to the feel of the rig and how it handles. The quick rudder and sail control is instantly responsive on such a small craft. Strong gust, just quickly turn into the wind more or let the sail out some. I've never tipped while sailing.
@superdave98008 That might be a good idea. But need adequate clearance from the junk between the legs. A removable centerboard off the side attached over the top of your lap might be a better idea but cumbersome. I guess it doesn't necessarily need to be in the center to work.
Brother your a genius! !! Well done
I love it! gets my brain gears turning for project ideas for my kayak! is it easy for you to tack upwind in this?
@masterofsurvival Building something that works from inexpensive or free stuff is half the fun. I wouldn't want to use any iron or steel, it would rust out in no time. I sail in salt water. The clip that hooks the guyline to the top of the mast to the front of the kayak completely corroded away in a couple years. It was made out of chrome plated zinc. Brass, stainless steel and aluminum are the only metals that are reliable in salt water.
Nice mod. I'm thinking about attempting this and it just so happens I live in Destin... maybe I'll try to get with you but I think I want some outriggers first....
Very nice work.. I love your ingenuity.
Thanks for sharing!
I enjoyed this video a lot. Very nice work.
What material is your kayak made from? Mine is ram-x and I've heard some pretty bad things about it including the fact that it cannot be repaired. Does plastic welding work, regardless of the material as long as you use the correct rods?
Well done, ingenious and fun!
Would filling the mast with foam help with the flexing?